DE

↑ ↓ select, Enter open, Esc close

Set all files to 644 recursively

cautionPermissions and ownershipalle

Caution: This command changes the system. Understand what it does before you run it.

Adjust the values, the command updates live
user@server
find /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +

Changes only files, not directories, to 644: the owner can read and write, everyone else can only read. This is the usual target state for PHP files, images and stylesheets. Combined with 755 for directories, it brings a messed-up installation back in order.

Note: Executable scripts (such as shell scripts for cron jobs) lose their x permission. Afterwards, set wp-config.php separately to something more restrictive.

Also searched as

  • fix wordpress file permissions
  • chmod 644 files only recursively
  • set files to 644 linux
  • reset 777 permissions

Related one-liners

All in Permissions and ownership

Set all directories to 755 recursively

$find /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs -type d -exec chmod 755 {} +
cautionPermissions and ownership

Find world-writable files and directories

$find /var/www/vhosts -xdev -perm -0002 ! -type l -ls 2>/dev/null
harmlessPermissions and ownership

Secure the permissions of wp-config.php

$chmod 600 /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/wp-config.php
cautionPermissions and ownership

Find large images in wp-content/uploads

$find /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads -type f \( -iname '*.jpg' -o -iname '*.jpeg' -o -iname '*.png' -o -iname '*.gif' -o -iname '*.webp' \) -size +500k -printf '%s\t%p\n' | sort -rn | head -50 | numfmt --field=1 --to=iec
harmlessImages and performance

Find PHP files in the WordPress uploads folder

$find /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads -type f \( -iname '*.php' -o -iname '*.phtml' -o -iname '*.php[0-9]' \) -ls
harmlessSecurity

Copy permissions and owner from a reference file

#chmod --reference=/var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/index.php /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/wp-config.php && chown --reference=/var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/index.php /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/wp-config.php
cautionPermissions and ownership

Read first, then run.

The commands on myline.de act directly on servers, files and databases. A wrong path or placeholder can delete data irreversibly or make a server unreachable.

  • All commands are provided without warranty and are not tested on every system.
  • Understand what a command does before running it, and check every placeholder.
  • Make a backup first and, if possible, try it on a test system.
  • You run commands at your own risk. Liability for damages is excluded to the extent permitted by law.